Riddles of Death
by xXxThe Phantom's RosexXx
Summary: Dr. Temperance Brennan has just been killed in a car accident leaving behind her only daughter to a man she hasn't seen in nerely two decades. Now Booth must come to terms with Bones' death, having a daughter, and trying to solve her murder.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Riddles of Death

**Title**: Riddles of Death

**Summary**: Dr. Temperance Brennan has just died in a car crash leaving behind her only child in the custody of Special Agent Seeley Booth – a man she hasn't seen in over a decade. Now Booth must not only come to terms with his loss but also the news of now having a daughter. But why him? Why would Bones leave her child to a man whom she hasn't had contact with in over a decade? And why would Bones driving drunk in the first place? With more questions than answers, it is up to Seeley Booth to solve what he believes to be a murder and deal with the trials and tribulations of having a daughter.

**Author's Note**: I do not own Bones an any way, shape or form but if someone were to offer Seeley Booth to me, I wouldn't decline.



"Excuse me, is this Agent Booth?"

"Yes it most certainly is," Special Agent Seeley Booth replied into the phone. He was unable to recognize the woman's voice but her tone sounded urgent, "What can I do for you?"

"Well you see Agent Booth, I am terribly sorry to inform you but there was a car crash late last night – the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol. She died before even arriving to our hospital. We were able to get a hold of some people. As it turns out, she had a living will and a daughter."

"That is such a shame," Booth said, still not quite sure why the woman had contacted him, "Especially for that little girl, having to deal with the sudden death of her mother. My prayers go out towards her."

"That is very kind of you, Agent Booth but there is a reason why I have contacted you. You see, the woman listed you as her next-of-kin – next to her daughter of course – and…well, in the will, it says that she'd like no one else to raise her daughter but you. We have the will with us if you'd like to…"

"Who…who was it that died?" Booth asked, still growing more and more impatient.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, Agent Booth. Do you recall her…"

"Of course I '_recall_ her,'" Booth snapped, "She…she was my partner."

"I am terribly sorry for you loss, Agent Booth."

"You…you said drunk driving?"

"Her blood alcohol level was way past being just intoxicated. She…she didn't have much of a chance. She was driving home and lost control of the car. It flipped over into a ravine. Several drivers reported the incident. She was died not soon after the EMS arrived on the scene."

"That…that isn't right."

"What do you mean, Agent Booth?"

"Bones – Temperance – would never drink and drive. Hell, she never even drank except for a few times with me and even then I don't think she liked it too much. There must be some sort of mistake."

"I'm afraid there isn't."

"Look, I worked with the forensic team at the Jeffersonian. I am credible with a lot of medical findings and I swear to you that Temperance Brennan didn't drink that night."

"Sir, I do apologize. I know this is hard on you but you are going to have to come down to the hospital. Her daughter is here and you need to look over the will as well as survive the body."

"Now?"

"Sooner would be better than later, yes."

"Okay. I'll be right over in about ten minutes."

"Thank you. Madeline hasn't left the waiting room since she arrived here last night. It's really shaken her up so if you'd like to talk with her first and give her some comforting advice…"

"I don't think I'll be much help."

"What do you mean?"

"I…I don't know Madeline. I…I didn't even know Temperance had a child."

"Oh my," there was a sudden pause on the phone, "Well, I am sorry. The lawyer has just be contacted so if you do not wish to have custody of Madeline, I am sure you could work something out."

"Uh-huh. And your name is…"

"Nurse Cecile. Just have the front desk page me when you arrive."

"Thanks, Cecile."

The nurse clicked off the phone and Booth turned his off as well. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Temperance – Dr. Temperance Brennan – died because of driving while drunk? It didn't fit. Booth refused to believe it. Temperance hated drinking. She was an advocate for WADD – Women Against Drunk Driving. She had always insisted on driving him back to his place after he'd had two beers. She would never be caught dead driving drunk. And what was this about a daughter? Maddie? Madeline? Madeline, that was it! Since when does Temperance have a daughter and where is the child's father? It was very unlike Tempe to go and have a fling with someone. All these questions flooded Booths mind as he grabbed his leather jacket, shrugged it on, and hurried out the door.

As the black Expedition rolled down the high way, Booth ignored the speedometer. For some reason, this was more important that a traffic violation. He gripped the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles grew a ghostly white. Within minutes, he was at St. Andrew's and trying to find a parking place. After parking the Expedition, he quickly hurried through the front doors and to the waiting room. The first person he wanted to talk to was Madeline. He made his way to the waiting room and saw a teenage girl sitting on the couch with her feet tucked up around her. She had long brown hair that fell mid-back. It was a dark brown likes Tempe's had been but streaked with deep-red highlights. She was picking at her cuticles – a habit Booth remembered Bones having – and her nails were painted a dark red – so dark that it was almost nearing black on the spectrum. Booth grabbed the back of his skull and tilted his neck to the right before taking a deep breath and making his way over to the girl.

"Madeline?" He asked, his voice gentle.

"You aren't another cop are you?" The girl asked, her voice on the edge.

"Well, my name is Special Agent Seeley Booth and I am an F.B.I agent but not a cop."

"The F.B.I?" The girl's blue-glass eyes widened.

"I'm not here to question you or cause you any more trouble, really," Booth tried his best to sound comforting, "I knew your mother. She was a very close and very dear friend of mine. We…we had lost contact once she took a job in Egypt to excavate a newly-found grave sight. I hadn't spoken to your mother in over a decade but I just got a call from here saying she had passed and that I…I was down as the next of kin. I am supposed to survive the body and…and from my understanding there was a living will that states I am to take custody of you."

"They mentioned something about a will and that you were left as my guardian."

"I…I am very sorry for your loss, Madeline."

"It's Maddie."

"Maddie," Booth corrected.

"They say she was drinking," Maddie looked down at her hands.

"Which makes no sense to me at all," Booth commented, "I will have someone check into this. I can contact the Jeffersonian. They can examine your mother's body more thoroughly…"

"No!"

"Excuse me?"

"No," Maddie's voice relaxed as she spoke, "It's just…I don't want any more of this. I just want to be able to put her to rest and move on with this. And why the Jeffersonian of all places?"

"She worked there. She was the lead forensic anthropologist there. Her team consisted of four other members and me."

"I thought you said you were F.B.I."

"I am. They helped me solve a lot of my cases."

"Oh."

"So you don't want me to have them look over your mother's body? They can answer a lot of questions for the both of us."

"I…I just want to lay her to rest."

"It will take less than a week," Booth promised.

"All…Alright."

"Great. Now I'm supposed to take a look at your mother's body…"

"I…I haven't seen it. I don't want to."

"I understand. I'll go talk to some of the doctors and then I'll be back over."

"Mr. Booth…"

"Look kid, I raised my son to call your mother what I called her – Bones. I will have you calling me nothing else but Booth – just like your mother."

"Yes sir…"

"And I'm not a sir. I don't think I'm _quite_ that old yet."

"Booth," Maddie corrected herself, "I…I have a question."

"Yes kid?"

"What…what's going to happen to me?"

**A/N: Is it worthy of reviews? **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"Damn," Booth's fist collided with the wall of metal drawers and he winced.

"Agent Booth…?"

"Yes," Booth looked down once more at the bruised body of his ex-partner, "That's…that's Temperance."

"That's all we need. We're going to run an autopsy…"

"No," Booth shook his head, "That's okay. We all know what she died from."

"But I think…"

"Look, Doctor…Daniels," Booth said, looking at the Doctor's ID badge, "If I wanted an autopsy, I'd get someone else to do it. I don't like the idea of a stranger poking at Tempe's body, got it?"

"Sir, where will you take her?" The doctor asked, startled by the man's request.

"To the Jeffersonian."

"Look, Agent Booth I am sure the Jeffersonian is too busy to do silly autopsies on a cadaver whose death is known."

"They'd never be too busy for her, trust me."

"Agent…"

"Look, I can get a warrant from my boss if you'd like but that's really just a lot of trouble on both our parts so why don't you just have the body taken to the Jeffersonian and save us all from…"

"Agent Booth…"

"Fine, I'll call Caroline and believe me, you don't want to get involved with her!"

"Alright!" The doctor held up his hand, "We'll have the body delivered today."

"Thank you. Now I heard something about a living will?"

"Yes, the lawyer has been contacted. You are to meet him in his office around one."

"Thank you ever so much for your cooperation, Doctor Daniels," Booth rolled his eyes before exiting the morgue and heading back over towards the waiting room. Maddie was still sitting right where he had left her and didn't look like she was planning moving anytime soon.

"Hey Kid."

"Hi, Booth."

"We meet with the lawyer at one," was all Booth could find to say of the matter, "So grab your coat and let's go."

Maddie didn't say anything; she just grabbed the coat off the chair next to her and walked a few feet behind Booth. When they reached his Expedition, she clamored into the passenger seat and crossed her arms over her chest. Booth had been in enough "Sweets Sessions" over the years to know that this was a universal sign for "leave me the freak alone." He decided not to mention the body and they drove to the courthouse in silence. When they reached the designated board room, Booth found Caroline sitting there.

"Ms. Julian," Booth nodded mostly out of fear rather than respect for authority – something he always had had an issue with.

"Agent Booth. These walls are paper-thin and nobody in this building can keep things to themselves so naturally when I heard, I had to come. I am sorry for your loss, both of you," Caroline nodded to both Maddie and Booth.

"Yes well, we're here to discuss the living will."

"Right," a man sitting on the opposite side of the table outstretched a hand, "I am Mr. Thomas Penhall. It is wonderful to meet you…"

"Cut the crap, Penhall," Booth said, not bothering to extend his own hand, "A woman died last night and we are not two friends meeting for coffee! Let's get down to business."

A single chuckle escaped the lips of Caroline Julian and she quickly covered her mouth with her hand and coughed. It would be unprofessional of her to laugh despite the fact the man sounded much like her – too much like her even. After all those years, she'd finally rubbed off on him!

"Agent Booth, let's not get our briefs in a bunch," she managed to say in her typical tyrannical voice…

"I wear boxers…"

"We are here to discuss the will!" Caroline brushed off Booth as if he hadn't even spoken, "And there is a young lady present! How old are you child?"

"Sixteen."

"And how long ago has it been since you've seen her mother, Agent Booth?"

"About two decades ago…"

"Mmmmhmmmm," Caroline smirked knowingly before addressing the lawyer, "Mr. Penhall can we please get down to the business about the will."

"Yes. I'll read it aloud," Mr. Penhall cleared his throat before beginning reading the will, "With much persuasion from my friend, Angela, I have decided to create a living will for myself. I never thought I of all people would be doing this but I guess having a child changes some things. Speaking of Madeline Rose – Maddie, you are to inherit all my earnings and my savings. Use if for college, honey. Also in regards to Maddie, I'd like to address the matter of her custody. If something should happen to me, I would want no one else but Special Agent Seeley Booth to raise her. I saw him raise his son, Parker and I know he is an amazing dad – one of the bests. There is no one else whom I'd trust with Maddie despite the fact I haven't had contact with him."

"Wow," Booth blinked. He honestly didn't know what to say.

"Well that's just dandy!" Caroline spoke up, "Booth, congratulations on being another daddy!"

"Wait a moment, I didn't say I was going to go through with this yet," Booth held up a hand, "Mr. Penhall, what is to happen to Maddie if I wasn't to take her?"

"She'd be placed in a foster care system or a group home," Mr. Penhall was quick to answer, clearly having been through this situation before.

"No," Booth shook his head, "She is not going to a foster or group home. If Temperance knew…no. She will not go."

"So you'll take her?"

"There's no other option," Booth said stoically, "Maddie will come home with me, to live."

"Agent Booth, are you sure? It will be very difficult given the situation and your job," Mr. Penhall said worriedly.

"I didn't ask for easy, Penhall. I merely ask that this child not be put through what her mother was."

"Alright. All you have to do Agent Booth is sign on the line and that will verify the custody."

"Alright, Tommy," Booth took the pen that Mr. Penhall had offered to him and began to autograph the papers.

"It's just Tom, Agent Booth."

"Sure it ain't Doug?" Booth asked knowing now was the probably not the best time to be making jokes but come on – Thomas Penhall? He couldn't pass that one up.

"Yes," Mr. Penhall said, not quite catching the joke.

"So I can take her home now?" Booth asked feeling much like he'd just adopted a new puppy and signed the papers at the SPCA instead of adopting a child. To him, the whole process was just too…informal.

"Yes sir you can."

"Great. Come on, Maddie. When we get home, we can work on rearranging Parker's old room. It'll be yours now."

"Booth?"  
"Yeah kid?"

"Who's Parker?"

"My son," Booth said before adding, "Your brother."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

"Welcome home, Maddie," Booth said as he tossed his keys on the table, "Home sweet home!"

"It's nice," Maddie nodded politely as she glanced around.

"Come here, I'll show you your room."

Booth led Maddie down a hall and to the bedroom that used to be his sons. There was a twin sized bed, a desk with a computer, and a television. There was also a dresser and a full-length mirror against the closet door.

"It used to be my son's," Booth explained, "Before her went off to college."

"Will he be upset to come home and find me taking it over?"

"Nah. Park will understand. Are you hungry? I can fix something if you'd like or we could go somewhere…"

"No, I'm not hungry," Maddie shook her head, "But I would like to get some of my things from my mom's place, is that okay?"

"That's fine," Booth said with a nod, "Do you want to go now?"

"Please?"

Booth grabbed the keys off the table and in no time at all, the Expedition was back on the highway. Booth remembering Bones not wanting to give up the apartment while away in Egypt. She had asked Angela before she left to take care of it for her until she returned. Booth hadn't been inside the apartment in nearly two decades and the thought of him in there without Bones was unsettling.

"Turn here."

"I remember," Booth nodded.

"How well did you know my mother?" Maddie asked.

"Pretty well. She was my partner. She worked in the Jeffersonian as a forensic anthropologist and I was an F.B.I agent. She found out who killed who and I got the bad guys. We were a great team."

"It sounds like it."

"When she…when she left to take the excavation job in Egypt, I begged her not to go. I know it was selfish of me to want her to stay but I just…I didn't want to lose her. She told me it was something she had to do and left. I…I never saw her again."

"Didn't she write to you?"

"Once. She told me she was sorry but she needed to get away and that she loved me and hoped that one day I'd find happiness. She wished me luck and safety with my job and told me that she'd always think of me."

"Mom mentioned a man who worked as an F.B.I agent. I'd always hear her say little things like 'Booth!' whenever something was bothering her. I thought it was a curse word growing up."

"Temperance turning my name into a curse word! Now that's something I'd expect."

"Booth…I miss her."

"You know something kid, I miss her too.

After collecting some of Maddie's things such as stuffed animals and photo albums, Booth drove her home. He couldn't bring himself to go inside so he had just waited outside the door. Once she had gotten everything she wanted, they headed back to her new home.

"I need to make some phone calls, okay?" Booth announced as he hung up his jacket.

"Okay," Maddie nodded as Booth left for the kitchen.

He picked up the phone and began to dial the familiar phone number. He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his brown hair. How long had it been since he had talked with her?

"Hello?"

"Cam?"

"Who is this?" Demanded the voice on the other line.

"Booth – Seeley Booth."

"Booth?" Camille's voice was shocked, "Booth? Uh…hi! How are you?"

"Cam, I have a huge favor to ask of you."

"Anything."

"Bones…Bones was in a car crash last night. She…she is dead."

"Oh God," Booth could practically see Cam covering her mouth with her hand.

"The thing is, I don't know if it was just an accident. They are saying she was very intoxicated but Bones would never drink. It…it just doesn't add up to me."

"Do you want us to review the body?" Camille asked.

"Please?"

"Of course. Oh God, drunk driving?"

"Yeah. They said her blood alcohol level was extremely high."

"God."

"It…it isn't like Bones at all. Especially what with having a kid and all."

"Bones has a kid?"

"Yup – Madeline Rose. And guess who got custody?"

"You?" Cam's voice was confused, "_You_?"

"Yup."

"Booth…you haven't seen Bones in years."

"Almost two decades but she said in the will that she wanted me to raise her daughter. She's sixteen."

"Wow. Are you cut out for that?"

"Hey, I think I did a heck of a job raising Parker, Miss-Never-Wants-Kids."

"That's Mrs-Never-Wants-Kids to you, pal," Camille corrected.

"Mrs.?"

"Yup. Married now."

"Congratulations to you and the lucky husband."

"Thank you. So will the body be shipped here?"

"It's on its way."

"Great. Do you want to come over while we examine it?"

"You'll let me?"

"Of course. This is your case, right?"

"Well," Booth bit his lip, "No one really knows it's a case. They think it was just an accident but I have a gut feeling that there's something more to this."

"We'll have a look. Come over tomorrow around noon and we can work on the body."

"Who…who is still there?"

"Angela and Hodgins."

"Wow…old memories are coming back."

"I have a feeling this case will unearth lots of old memories…for all of us."


End file.
